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((Short description|One of the masticatory muscles in mammals))
((More citations needed|date=May 2015))
((Infobox muscle
| Name        = Masseter
| Latin       = musculas masseter
| Image       = Gray378 (masseter highlight).png
| Caption     = The left masseter muscle (red highlight), partially covered by superficial muscles such as the [[platysma muscle]] (below) and both the [[zygomaticus major muscle|zygomaticus major]] and [[zygomaticus minor muscle|minor muscles]]
| Origin      = [[zygomatic arch]] and maxillary process of [[zygomatic bone]]
| Insertion   = Angle surface of [[ramus of mandible]], [[coronoid process of the mandible|coronoid process]]
| Blood       = [[masseteric artery]]
| Nerve       = [[mandibular nerve]] (V3)
| Action      = [[Elevation (kinesiology)|elevation]] (as in closing of the mouth) and [[Anatomical terms of motion|protrusion]] of [[Human mandible|mandible]]
| Antagonist  =
))

In [[anatomy]], the '''masseter'''((refn|name=help|group=help|The word ''masseter'' (usually ((IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|s|iː|t|ər)),<ref name="Dorlands">((Citation |author=Elsevier |author-link=Elsevier |title=Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary |publisher=Elsevier |url=http://dorlands.com/ |postscript=.))</ref><ref name="MW_Medical">((Citation |author=Merriam-Webster |author-link=Merriam-Webster |title=Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster |url=http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/medical/ |postscript=.))</ref><ref name="AHD">((Citation |author=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |url=https://ahdictionary.com/ |postscript=. |access-date=2015-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925104737/https://ahdictionary.com/ |archive-date=2015-09-25 |url-status=dead ))</ref> sometimes ((IPAc-en|ˈ|m|æ|s|ᵻ|t|ər))<ref name="Stedmans">((Citation |author=Wolters Kluwer |author-link=Wolters Kluwer |title=Stedman's Medical Dictionary |publisher=Wolters Kluwer |url=http://stedmansonline.com/ |postscript=.))</ref>) comes through [[Neo-Latin]] from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] μασᾶσθαι ''masasthai'', "to chew".)) is one of the [[muscles of mastication]]. Found only in mammals, it is particularly powerful in [[herbivores]] to facilitate chewing of plant matter.<ref name=VB>((cite book |author=Romer, Alfred Sherwood|author2=Parsons, Thomas S.|year=1977 |title=The Vertebrate Body |publisher=Holt-Saunders International |location= Philadelphia, PA|page= 283|isbn= 0-03-910284-X))</ref> The most obvious muscle of mastication is the masseter muscle, since it is the most superficial and one of the strongest.

==Structure==
The masseter is a thick, somewhat quadrilateral muscle, consisting of three heads, superficial, deep and coronoid. The fibers of superficial and deep heads are continuous at their insertion.

===Superficial head===
The superficial head, the larger, arises by a thick, tendinous [[aponeurosis]] from the [[zygomatic process of the maxilla]], the temporal process of the [[zygomatic bone]] and from the anterior two-thirds of the inferior border of the [[zygomatic arch]]. Its fibers pass inferior and posterior, to be inserted into the angle of the mandible and inferior half of the lateral surface of the [[ramus of the mandible]].

===Deep head===
The deep head is much smaller, and more muscular in texture. It arises from the posterior third of the lower border and from the whole of the medial surface of the zygomatic arch. Its fibers pass downward and forward, to be inserted into the upper half of the ramus as high as the [[coronoid process of the mandible]]. The deep head of the muscle is partly concealed, anteriorly, by the superficial portion. Posteriorly, it is covered by the [[parotid gland]].

=== Coronoid head ===
The coronoid head of the masseter's tendon and muscle fibers run posterolaterally from the coronoid process of the mandible towards the posterior third of the zygomatic arch. Its function is believed to be the retraction of the mandible and the stabilization of the mandibular coronoid process.<ref>((Cite journal |last1=Mezey |first1=Szilvia E. |last2=Müller-Gerbl |first2=Magdalena |last3=Toranelli |first3=Mireille |last4=Türp |first4=Jens Christoph |date=2022-02-01 |title=The human masseter muscle revisited: First description of its coronoid part |journal=Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger |language=en |volume=240 |pages=151879 |doi=10.1016/j.aanat.2021.151879 |pmid=34863910 |s2cid=244844284 |issn=0940-9602|doi-access=free ))</ref><ref>((Cite journal |last1=Mudry |first1=Albert |last2=Jackler |first2=Robert K. |date=2022-08-01 |title=The coronoid insertion of the human masseter muscle was well described in the 18th century |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0940960222000371 |journal=Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger |language=en |volume=243 |pages=151922 |doi=10.1016/j.aanat.2022.151922 |pmid=35278659 |s2cid=247374798 |issn=0940-9602))</ref> 

===Innervation===
Along with the other three [[muscles of mastication]] ([[temporalis]], [[medial pterygoid muscle|medial pterygoid]], and [[lateral pterygoid muscle|lateral pterygoid]]), the masseter is innervated by the anterior division of the [[mandibular nerve|mandibular division (V3)]] of the [[trigeminal nerve]]. The innervation pathway is:
gyrus precentralis  > genu capsula interna > nucleus motorius nervi trigemini > nervus trigeminus > nervus mandibularis > musculus masseter.

==Function==
The action of the muscle during bilateral contraction of the entire muscle is to elevate the mandible, raising the lower jaw. Elevation of the mandible occurs during the closing of the jaws. The masseter parallels the [[medial pterygoid muscle]], but it is stronger and superficial fibres can cause protrusion.

==Clinical significance==

===Examination===
To perform an extraoral examination, stand near the patient and visually inspect and bilaterally palpate the muscle. Place the fingers of each hand over the muscle and ask the patient to clench his or her teeth several times.<ref name=":0" />

===Pathology===
The masseter muscle can become enlarged in patients who habitually clench or grind (with [[bruxism]]) their teeth and even in those who constantly chew gum. This masseteric [[hypertrophy]] is asymptomatic and soft; it is usually bilateral but can be unilateral. Even if the hypertrophy is bilateral, asymmetry of the face may still occur due to unequal enlargement of the muscles. This extraoral enlargement may be confused with parotid salivary gland disease, dental infections, and maxillofacial neoplasms. However, no other signs are present except those involved in changes in occlusion intraorally such as pain, and the enlargement corresponds with the outline of the muscle. Most patients seek medical attention because of comments about facial appearance, and this situation may be associated with further pathology of the [[temporomandibular joint]].<ref name=":0">Illustrated Anatomy of the Head and Neck, Fehrenbach and Herring, Elsevier, 2012, p. 97</ref>

Finally, the muscle undergoes spasm with [[malignant hyperthermia]] as do other [[skeletal muscles]], but this one is easily noted, since it is on the face.

[[Singing|Singers]] often experience various kinds of masseter tension, which is often treated with transdermal massages or stretches as a [[vocal warm-up]].<ref>((Cite web|url=https://edwardsvoice.wordpress.com/2015/12/14/mix-it-up-monday-releasing-the-masseter-muscle/|title=Mix it up Monday: Releasing the masseter muscle|date=14 December 2015))</ref><ref>((cite book |last=Kayes |first=Gillyane |date=2000 |title=Singing and the Actor |isbn=978-0878301980))</ref>

==In other animals==
The masseter muscle's positioning is a distinguishing feature of [[Hystricognathi|hystricognathous]] creatures such as [[Blesmol|mole-rats]], where it passes partially through the [[infraorbital foramen]] and connects to the bone on the opposite side.

==Additional images==
<gallery>
File:Illu head neck muscle.jpg|Muscles of the head and neck.
File:Gray1024.png|Dissection, showing salivary glands of right side (Masseter visible at center)
File:Gray137.png|Left temporal bone, outer surface
File:Gray141.png|Left temporal bone, inferior surface
File:Gray166.png|Left zygomatic bone, temporal surface
File:Gray176.png|Mandible, outer surface, side view
File:Gray508.png|The arteries of the face and scalp.
File:Gray557.png|Veins of the head and neck.
File:Gray781.png|Mandibular division of the trifacial nerve.
File:Slide10por.JPG|Masseter muscle. Deep dissection. Mummification process.
File:MRI showing masseter muscle and neighbors.png|An MRI of head with captions for masseter muscle and other structures around it
</gallery>

==See also==
((Anatomy-terms))
* [[Zygomasseteric system]]

==Notes==
((Reflist|group=help))

==References==
((Commons category|Masseter muscles))((Reflist))((Muscles of head))

((Authority control))

[[Category:Muscles of the head and neck]]

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